Non-Profit
US Postage
PAID
Lafayette, LA
Permit #45
300 Fisher Road
Lafayette, LA 70508
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Beginnings & Transitions
The month of January is named after the Roman god, Janus. Legend has it he had two
faces, one looking at the past, the other the future, both presiding over beginnings and
transitions.
The Bayou Vermilion District is a bit like that. We continually pay homage to the people
and events that made us what we are today by learning from the examples they set
for us. That heritage gives us the courage to face the challenges that lay ahead with
confidence and pride.
“Increasingly the Bayou Vermilionvillle
District has moved forward on projects for
the Vermilion Bayou as well as Vermilionville.
Improvements at Vermilionville and enhanced
programming serve to preserve and to
describe the culture and history of Acadiana.
Water quality and increased recreational
access to the river are improving the visibility
of this unique natural resource. During the
next few years, we hope to continue this
growth, to increase public awareness and
to provide activities for the entire Acadiana
community.”
BayouVermilionDistrict.org
Sundays*
1-4 p.m.
$5 Admission
*Unless otherwise stated
Bal du Dimanche
Dance the afternoon away every Sunday at Vermilionville’s Performance Center.
Refreshments will be available for these smoke-free, all ages shows.
Visit the events calendar at Vermilionville.org for more info on the performers.
January
February
March
January 6
February 3
March 3
Cajun
Cajun
Leroy Thomas & Zydeco Road
Runners
Zydeco
January 13
Jimmy Breaux & Friends
Cajun
January 20
Goldman Thibodeaux &
The Lawtell Playboys
Creole
January 27
Courir de Mardi Gras with
Lafayette Rhythm Devils
Cajun *Music from 12 - 3 p.m.
Sheryl Cormier & Cajun Sounds
Briggs Brown & Bayou Cajuns
February 10
March 10
Zydeco
Zydeco
Terry & Zydeco Bad Boys
February 17
Richard Miller & Musical
Playboys
Cajun
February 24
Curley Taylor & Zydeco Trouble
Zydeco
Lil’ Wayne & Same Ol’ 2 Step
March 17
Wallace Trahan & Rice & Gravy
Cajun
March 24
Corey Ledet & His Zydeco Band
Zydeco
March 31
Rachel Wilson & Cajun Express
Cajun
Dr. David Barry, BVD Board President
Accordingly, the New Year brings us quite a few changes. We will have a new
commission president, Dr. David Barry, a new Bayou Education & Recreation coordinator,
Mr. Emile Ancelet, a new Museum Operations coordinator, Ms. Jolie Schouest, a new
Horticulturist, Ms. Margot Addison and a new tour coordinator, Ms. Catherine Fontenot.
Ms. Schouest, soon to be Mrs. Johnson, is taking over for Mrs. Rachelle Dugas who is
leaving us to become a new mother. We wish everyone well in their new positions.
All of these transitions are very exhilarating but our forthcoming redesigned website and
logos are not to be outdone in excitement. Being a multifaceted yet unified operation, we
wanted all aspects of BVD to have a special logo and tag line that shows its specific role
in accomplishing our overall mission-to preserve our natural and cultural resources.
David Cheramie, CEO Bayou Vermilion District
New Hires at the Bayou
Vermilion District
The Bayou Vermilion District is pleased to announce the hiring
of Bayou Education & Recreation Coordinator Emile Ancelet.
In his previous role with BVD Emile was part of our Bayou
Vermilion specialist team who maintains the water quality on
the river. In his new role he will be organizing and guiding
bimonthly paddle trips on the Bayou Vermilion, providing
guided tours of our watershed exhibit, working with the
Lafayette Parish School System to promote a healthy watershed
to the students and planning events like our annual Earth Day
celebration.
Emile Ancelet is an active outdoor
enthusiast with experience in
wilderness and eco-tourism, previously working as a UL student aide
in the Center for Cultural & Eco
Tourism. Ancelet has also worked as
a bio-fuel intern in the department
of Renewable Resources through
the Institute for Coastal Ecology and
Engineering (ICEE).
Catherine Fontenot has been recently
hired as Vermilionville’s Tour Coordinator. She comes to our historic village
with a BA in Modern Language for
French and Francophone Studies. In her
new role she will book and organize activities for school and adult group tours
and also assists with special programming events.
News
Events
Tuesday, January 8
New Quarterly Series: Seed to Skillet
Seed to Skillet: Leafy Greens
Saturday, March 16
11 – 1 p.m.
Join Vermilionville artisan Greg Guidroz
(pictured above) as he shows you how to grow,
harvest and prepare food from your garden.
This quarter’s from Seed to Skillet will focus on
leafy greens like the carrot, radish, turnip and
beet tops (pictured below).
Vermilionville is launching a new
quarterly series called from Seed to
Skillet that will focus on the entire process
of growing, harvesting and preparing
your own food. Vermilionville artisan
Greg Guidroz will walk you through the
process of how to plant, care for and
gather crops to feed you and your family.
Each quarter he will focus on various
crops he is collecting and getting ready to
plant for the season. He will also prepare
some of his recipes for the food he is
harvesting and share samples with the
audience.
For the first quarter Greg will be focusing
on harvesting leafy greens such as
cabbage, radish tops, turnip tops,
mustard greens, carrot tops, shallots,
lettuce and beet tops.
With the latest harvest of leafy greens he
will be doing cooking demos on how to
prepare green gumbo, pickled beets as
well as a carrot cake.
Greg will also be talking about preparing
seeds for March including okra,
tomatoes, pole and bush beans, corn,
winter squash and sweet potatoes.
Admission to this special event is $15 for
adults, $10 for students and children 6
and under enter for free. To register for
this event call (337) 233-4077 or email
[email protected].
The Backyard Series
6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
January’s topic is The World of Boudin. The
series is presented by the Center for Louisiana
Studies at UL and sponsored in part by
Decentralized Arts Funding distributed by
the Acadiana Center for the Arts and the
Louisiana Division of the Arts in partnership
with the Vermilionville Foundation. Free and
open to all ages.
Sunday, January 27
Courir de Mardi Gras
11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Vermilionville brings a traditional country
Mardi Gras run to the city for their annual
Courir de Mardi Gras. Learn about the
traditions of Mardi Gras before watching
the Basile Mardi Gras Association conduct
a traditional run throughout our historic
village. Stay after and join us for a bowl of
gumbo and help choose the winner for the
best Mardi Gras costume while dancing to
live music by the Lafayette Rhythm Devils in
our Performance Center. Admission is $8 for
adults, $5 for students (3-18) and 3 & under
enter free.
Tuesday, February 5
Improving Water
Quality Year-Round
Mardi Gras at
La Boutique
The Bayou Vermilion District works hard year
round to improve water quality in and around the
Vermilion River. With a staff of seven employees,
our bayou specialist team was able to fill over
902 55-gallon barrels with floating debris such as
water bottles, soda cans, fast food wrappers, etc.
this past year.
La Boutique at Vermilionville is your one stop
shop for all your Mardi Gras accessories.
We have everything you need whether you’re
headed to the parades or the country.
Stop by and check out our koozies and tumblers
to keep your drinks cold as well as shot glasses.
We also have items for the home including a
Mardi Gras corn husk and rag dolls as well as a
coffee mug to keep you in the carnival spirit.
Headed to the country for a traditional courir?
We have a nice collection of capuchons to
complete your costume.
The photo above was taken just off of Ruth Canal, one
of the main problem areas for BVD along with Lajaunie
Road. Both of these sites produce the bulk of large items
like automobile tires.
In addition to floating debris, the team removed
450 large items, such as couches, mattresses,
55-gallon drums, propane tanks and televisions.
Also removed from the banks, coulees and canals
that drain into the Vermilion River were 178
automotive and truck tires.
Barrels (55 gal)
Large Items
Tires
2012 Totals
902.5
450
178
2011 Totals
790
322
190
2010 Totals
834
731
454
2009 Totals
1148.5
502
310
2008 Totals
975.5
545
365
2007 Totals
1013
587
239
The Backyard Series
6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
February’s topic is Lafayette Urban Mardi
Gras Masking Traditions. The series is
presented by the Center for Louisiana Studies
at UL and sponsored in part by Decentralized
Arts Funding distributed by the Acadiana
Center for the Arts and the Louisiana
Division of the Arts in partnership with the
Vermilionville Foundation. Free and open to
all ages.
Fridays in March
Natural Easter Egg Dyeing
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Easter comes in the spring, when the earth
renews itself after a long, cold winter. And
while Easter is identified with spring and
rebirth, it is the egg that has come to signify
the season, and the Easter holiday itself. Learn
about the tradition behind Easter egg dyeing
as well as natural dyeing techniques that were
used before modern day food coloring was
around.
Wednesday, March 6
Frank and Tony Productions Present An
Evening with Bruce Cockburn
7 - 12 p.m.
Frank and Tony Productions presents an
evening with Bruce Cockburn. Doors open
at 6:30 p.m. and the music begins at 7:00
p.m. for this smoke free all ages show.
Refreshments and food will be available for
purchase. Advanced tickets are available at
Vermilionville.org.
Tuesday, March 12
The Backyard Series
6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
March’s topic in Natural Egg Dyeing.
The series is presented by the Center for
Louisiana Studies at UL and sponsored
in part by Decentralized Arts Funding
distributed by the Acadiana Center for
the Arts and the Louisiana Division of the
Arts in partnership with the Vermilionville
Foundation. Free and open to all ages.
Saturday, March 16
Seed to Skillet: Leafy Greens
11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
The Seed to Skillet series focuses on the
entire process of growing, harvesting
and preparing your own food. For the
first quarter Vermilionville artisan Greg
Guidroz will be harvesting leafy greens and
preparing green gumbo, pickled beets and
carrot cake. Greg will also be talking about
preparing seeds for the upcoming months.
Admission is $15 for adults and $10 for
students. Reserve your seat at Vermilionville.
org or call (337) 233-4077.
Tues, March 19 – Thur, March 21
St. Joseph’s Altar
10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Originally an Italian Catholic tradition, St.
Joseph’s Altar made its way into local Cajun
and Creole churches after WWI and WWII.
The tradition is still practiced to this day
where churches will erect an altar in honor
of St. Joseph. Learn about the first altar
erected in the town square of Sicily several
centuries ago as well as what the items on
present day altars represent. Visitors will
leave with a small bag of treats complete
with a lucky fava bean.
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Easter Celebration
11 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Get into the holiday spirit early with an
Easter celebration for the whole family at
our historic village. There will be plenty
to keep the kids busy including a hands
on family cooking class (must register in
advance), natural egg dyeing workshop
where kids dye their own egg and enter it
in our prettiest egg contest followed by a
pâquer tournament all the while listening
to music from our weekly Cajun Jam.
Admission is $6 for adults, $4 for students
(3-18) and 3 & under enter free.
Ongoing Programs
Cajun Jam
Every Saturday, 1–3:30 p.m.
Free jam is held in the Performance Center and
is open to all skill levels-beginner to professional.
Special thanks to the Cajun French Music Association
for sponsoring our weekly jams!
Bayou Vermilion Canoe Trip
2nd & Last Saturday, 8:30–11:30 a.m.
$5 insurance fee to American Canoe Association for
a canoe or bring your own canoe or kayak and
paddle for free. Canoe trips are held every second
and last Saturday of the month weather and river
conditions permitting. Please RSVP in advance by
calling 233-4077x205.
Les Vues Monthly Cultural Film Series
Last Monday of the month
6:30 p.m.
Les Vues is a free monthly film series curated by
filmmakers and enthusiasts from around the state.
Films will range from features, documentaries, student
film, shorts, animation, etc. that focus on the theme
of culture. Following the movies will be an open
discussion with the curator about the themes of the
movie and how they apply to that culture. See below
for upcoming screenings or visit Vermilionville.org for
more info on the films.
January 28
Ken Burns’ Huey Long
Curated by Dr. Michael Martin
February 25
Reconstructing Creole
Curated by Jennifer Block
March 25
Lomax in Louisiana
Curated by John Sharp
Exhibits
The Indigenous Peoples of Louisiana
January 1 - 21
10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
The State of Louisiana is home to the third largest
American Indian population in the eastern United
States. This exhibit features brief historical and
contemporary sketches of six of these communities,
including the four federally recognized nations.
A Tale of Two Mardi Gras
January 25 –February 25
10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Learn about the vastly different, but equally
meaningful ways Mardi Gras is celebrated in the city
and the country. Enjoy looking at the beautiful and
elaborate city costumes and fun and festive country
Mardi Gras outfits.
Earth Day
March 1 – April 29
10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
At the time the BVD was formed in the mid 1980s, the
Bayou Vermilion was listed as one of the most polluted
waterways in Louisiana. This exhibit will show how
the Bayou Vermilion District works to keep the bayou
clean and what you can do to help.
Spirit of Acadiana Exhibit
January 8 - March 29
10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
La Cuisine de Maman
“Spirit of Acadiana” celebrates our unique Cajun
culture through art. Enjoy the paintings by Shirley
Gauthier and Kay Jeansonne, two local artists who
bring the “Spirit of Acadiana” into their work.
Whether it’s Cajun musicians or local landscapes,
you’ll enjoy viewing their inspired paintings.